Rep. Monique Davis will return Chicago State statue

January 28, 2010

State Rep. Monique Davis, D-Chicago, said today that she will return a $25,000 statue owned by Chicago State University.

She said that her boyfriend took the artwork with permission from a CSU administrator after learning it was being warehoused, and that she kept it in her office because she believed she could protect it.

Auditors told university officials in October that the statue, depicting a life-size slave, was missing. An investigation revealed that it was in Davis' office.

At a news conference called to explain the matter Thursday, Davis charged that Chicago State had left the statue in a warehouse, "lying on the floor with ... dirt, dust and broken furniture."

Chicago State University said it is still trying to determine how the statue came to be in Davis' possession and is inventorying university property.

"We are pleased to hear that Rep. Monique Davis has agreed to return the Defiance statue ... where it rightfully belongs," said Felicia Horton, a university spokeswoman.

Horton said the statue will be displayed in the university's library.

Davis said her boyfriend, Arnold Jordan, bought the statue in 2004 with public money earmarked for the Student Financial Assistance Outreach Center. At the time, he directed the state-run program that was on the CSU campus.

Jordan said at the news conference that he wanted to place the statue in a new building that was planned for the financial aid center as a teaching tool for students to "learn their history."

But in 2005, the program was shut down after funding from Springfield failed to materialize.

Last August, Jordan said, he became "outraged" when he discovered that the statue had been placed in a warehouse. He said he got university administration permission before driving a U-Haul to campus and transferring the statue to Davis' office. He said he didn't recall who gave him permission.

Davis said she kept the statue in a corner of her private office where it was protected by the building's alarm system, which is also connected to her house.

Davis said she contacted multiple state government agencies to find out what to do with the statue but didn't get a response.

"I didn't want to see a $25,000 art sculpture not cared for, not respected, not on display," she said.